Cedar vs. pt pine

castroball5 · 01-31-2012, 08:39 PM

I'm planning on building a deck to go out by my pool. I was gonna use pt for the posts and joists and cedar for the actual decking. What do u recommend? Pt pine or cedar decking? Which will last longer? I was planning on sealing the cedar decking. Any advice is appreciated!

joecaption · 01-31-2012, 08:44 PM

How long do you want it to last? Clorine is hard on both of them. Wantt it to last far longer, never need seailing, no slivers, no cupping, no cracks then go with vinly coated composite.

cibula11 · 01-31-2012, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joecaption

How long do you want it to last? Clorine is hard on both of them. Wantt it to last far longer, never need seailing, no slivers, no cupping, no cracks then go with vinly coated composite.

To be honest, I might go with composite...especially around a pool. However, if that is not in your budget, I wouldn't waste the extra $ on cedar. It will gray VERY fast, and unless you like that look, it probably isn't worth it.

The PT that you get now isn't dark green like it used to be so it looks more natural and can be stained to be just about any color you'd like.

I put on a PT deck about 5 years ago and used Cabot natural stain. I've had friends who are general contractors ask if it was cedar....FWIW.

castroball5 · 01-31-2012, 09:24 PM

It's not going to be directly next to the pool and it's a salt water pool. Don't know if that's worse or not. I don't feel like shelling out $$ on composite, I just don't want the pt to "check" ya know. Do u think stain will keep it from checking? Don't u have to wait for pt to "dry out" before u stain it?

robertcdf · 01-31-2012, 09:39 PM

Environments and locations play such a huge role, in MY market cedar is 8-10 cents more than PT... Kind of a no brainer there, PT here is absolute junk, even if you stain it on a daily basis it still looks like garbage in 3 months.

TarheelTerp · 01-31-2012, 09:56 PM

The key to success with using PT is three fold:
how well you pick your boards, how well you install them and how well you keep them up.
Make it *easy* to clean up the surface over the years... even sanding it if needed.

http://www.deckmagazine.com/article/46.html <-- lots of hdwr ideas.
http://www.kregtool.com/Deck-Jig-Prodview.html

cibula11 · 01-31-2012, 10:53 PM

Never had a problem with pt..., but my friend has cedar that looks like crap...it's all in how you maintain it. Yearly staining/sealing for both.

castroball5 · 01-31-2012, 11:36 PM

Thanks all. One more thing, with pt how long do I have to wait before staining/sealing?

joecaption · 01-31-2012, 11:42 PM

Depends on the weather and humidy. In GA it would be best to wait a min. of 3 months.
If you can find a dealer that stocks Thompsonized wood it can be stained as soon as it's installed. It's kiln dryed after treatment.

sdsester · 02-01-2012, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joecaption

Depends on the weather and humidy. In GA it would be best to wait a min. of 3 months.
If you can find a dealer that stocks Thompsonized wood it can be stained as soon as it's installed. It's kiln dryed after treatment.

Don't go with Thompson's. It is a liquid wax product and will just cause you problems. If you are lucky you will only get a season out of it and any attempts and applying a semi-transparent stain will be blotchy because of the wax.

As mentioned, you should plan on a semi-transparent stain or sealer annually. Cedar will give you a level of insect protection you will not get with PT pine. Of course I practiced landscape design in redwood country so my bias goes that direction if availed you. Probably not where you are.

cibula11 · 02-01-2012, 09:01 AM

I live in Iowa and I put my deck on in may and waited till oct to stain. U need 3 solid days of sunshine and warm weather.

joecaption · 02-01-2012, 09:31 AM

Tomsonized wood not Tomson wood treating products, which I know are junk.
It comes with a life time warrenty and it's treaded to the core not just the surface.

**Gary in WA** · 02-01-2012, 09:59 PM

If you go with composite, leave 6" min.of airspace under it to prevent mold/mildew. The more plastic content- the less mold, Trex is 50%....

If you go with p.t.;
5 days to weather and dry: http://www.cabotstain.com/products/p...od-Primer.html

2 weeks to dry: http://www.inspectapedia.com/BestPra...s_Exterior.htm

The water bead test; http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_i.../staining_faq/
http://www.ppgpittsburghpaints.com/f...wers/index.htm
http://www.olympic.com/stain/do_it_y...#waterproofing
http://www.greatsouthernwood.com/products/buildingtips

And 3 weeks or longer, too bad; http://bct.eco.umass.edu/publication...ns-about-wood/

Gary